Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao has urged the Central government to take control of the Polavaram project and set a timeframe for its completion. Dr. Ramachandra Rao told reporters in New Delhi that the State had no locus standi for taking up the project declared as a national project. It was the prerogative of the Central government to take control of the project and execute it in line with Section 90 (2) of the AP Reorganisation Act. Though letters were addressed to Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti seeking her intervention in the issue, there was no response from the Union Government so far. He recalled that former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had initiated works on the Polavaram project canals.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, then in the Opposition, raised questions on the rationale behind construction of the canals ahead of the project. Mr. Naidu, however, was utilising the same canals to supply water from the Godavari to the regions in need. He alleged that the Chief Minister had not obtained prior approval for the Pattiseema scheme for diversion of the Godavari water to the Krishna basin. This was evident from the fact that the project was dedicated to the nation in August last while the government applied for clearance of the CWC in April this year.
